Gaborone, Botswana – De Beers Group has reported another month of declining rough diamond sales as sightholders remain cautious amid slowing sales and an uncertain outlook.
The company reported on Wednesday that sightholders and auction customers purchased a total of $370 million worth of rough diamonds in August (the seventh sales cycle of the year), down 42 percent from the same period last year when sales totalled $638 million. Month-on-month sales were down 10 per cent.
August marked the fourth consecutive month in which De Beers’ rough diamond sales have declined.
After rising steadily in the first three sales cycles of the year, sales fell to $479 million in May (the fourth sales cycle of the year), then totalled $456 million in June, $411 million in July and $370 million in August.
On a year-on-year basis, rough diamond sales totalled $3.21 billion,
down 27 per cent from the same point in 2022 ($4.42 billion). However, last year was a standout year for De Beers, with annual rough sales topping $5 billion for the first time since 2018.
De Beers CEO Al Cook attributed the August sales results to continued caution among sightholders, with companies reluctant to take on too much inventory amid slowing diamond jewellery sales and uncertainty about the near-term future.
He said: “With the prevailing economic environment leading to weaker consumer demand for diamond jewellery in key consumer markets, and the traditionally lower levels of mid-market trading during the summer period, sightholders continued to be cautious in their purchasing during the seventh sales cycle of the year.”
